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Thursday, April 28, 2011

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 24: X is for X-rated

Okay, now this challenge is getting tough. Very few words came into my head that have an x: x ray, xylophone. I'm interested to see what X-words everyone else came up with!!

I chose X-rated as my X word. Within my genre there is A LOT of x-rated stuff. There is always talk somewhere of the differences between erotic romance/erotica and porn. And there are HUGE differences.

Sex is a part of romantic fiction, whether the author chooses to hold off til the very end and hide it behind a closed door, or lace it throughout the book with completely open scenes detailing every moment. But even these incredibly detailed scenes are still not considered pornography.

The reason is the intent behind the sex. In a romantic fiction story, sex is there to progress the story forward. It always has a reason. It's an integral part of the romantic journey between the hero and heroine, filled with emotions- desire, lust, love, sometimes confusion, frustration.

Sex is a part of life and no romantic story would be complete without it. Now I'm not saying a romance novel is incomplete without a sex scene. But the story will end with the knowledge that the characters will live happily ever after and will eventually consummate the relationship.

In porn, sex is there for a completely different reason. The sex is all that's there- no emotion. It's there to excite and that's about it.